Beloved Falsetto
by ManOfChocolate
Summary: Prince Asriel faces a dire threat to his Throne of Soft, while his Royal Crier struggles to produce some non-lethal musical accompaniment.
**A/N: Crossposting from Ao3 again!**

 **Back to basics! After a little off-time, I returned to /utg/ in search of more requests! This time around, the prompt was fairly straightforward "something cute with Chara, Frisk and Asriel", and here we are.**

 **Prince Asriel accepts tributes in chocolate. Inspections before the monarch can have them will be conducted by me. I promise at least 20% will make it across. Most of the time.**

* * *

"Presenting the Prince of all Monsters, Upcoming Ruler of the Underground and Mini-Monarch of this fair Castle!"

Frisk blew into the little trumpet, producing a weapons-grade falsetto. The instrument was in pretty bad shape, even with all the work Alphys and Undyne put into restoring it from the sorry, waterlogged state as it was fished out from the garbage dump. Still, it at least pushed the child towards some form of creative endeavour, ear-piercing as it might have been.

They blew into the trumpet yet again, making Asriel wince. Frisk kept going until they barely had any air in their lungs, trying to produce some other sound that a horrid wail. However, only two of the buttons functioned, the third only managed to stick by through the mercy of whatever music deity Frisk tried paying tribute to.

"Asriel Dreemurr!"

Hearing their name, Prince Asriel straightened his posture upon the throne of assorted pillows and blankets. They scowled and smiled at the same time, trying their best to emulate defining features of both parents, even if this wasn't exactly an uplifting combination. Still, he did manage to make his appearance as regal as the Throne of Soft would allow for. He closed his eyes for a moment in an effort to draw out a dramatic pause, before slowly turning his head towards Frisk.

"Thank you, Royal Crier." he said, frowning briefly as he remembered Chara teasing him that "Royal Crier" was much more befitting of the emotional little monster child. He quickly pulled himself together though, as a monarch should. "Now, what news have you brought me?"

Frisk tried blowing the trumpet again, but that third button still refused to comply and ruined every subsequent attempt. It didn't even make sense; the other two managed to be bright and shiny, but this last one just wouldn't work. They mused that it might have been just because it wasn't the original, but a replacement Undyne tried to hammer in. Still, she insisted it would at least function.

"Er... sire!" they mumbled, giving up on the musical accompaniment. "I bring word from regions far and wide, from Snowdin to Hotlands! The notorious, nefarious and nasty Bandit Lord has finally been caught!"

"Slendicious!" Asriel clasped his hands, ignoring that the word sounded incorrect before he even uttered it. "Bring them to me, so I may swiftly enact justice upon them!"

"At once, sire!" Frisk nodded, blowing the trumpet once more.

The faulty button rattled loudly from the influx of air, further ruining the already pretty hokey tune. Rather than try again, Frisk quickly put it down and ran into the other end of the room.

They grabbed a toy spear and slipped on the cardboard armor they've made earlier, while the 'prisoner' next to them sighed in annoyance. Once suited up, Frisk led Chara before their ruler and gently suggested they kneel, for better effect. The fallen human glared at Prince Asriel and tugged at their bindings, hands loosely tied with a currently unused sweater.

"Sire, we have successfully captured the Bandit Lord who has been stealing from our chocolate mine shipments."

"Such evil cannot be tolerated in my kingdom." Asriel shook his head, scowling so deeply his head almost started to ache from the effort. "What can you say in your defense, Bandit?"

"It's very tasty chocolate!" Chara stated, defying the monarch's glare. "It would be a sin to hoard it!"

"So you just wanted to share it with others?" Asriel tilted his head, fingers brushing through his imaginary beard.

"No, I wanted to eat it all!"

Frisk faked a shocked gasp, while Asriel jumped to his feet from the comfy throne.

"Such insolence!" he said, pointing at the human, then over at Frisk. "Guard! Take this Bandit to the dungeons, and make sure they never get out!"

Their faithful guard nodded and reached for Chara, only to back off at the last second. Frisk sighed and dropped the spear, along with their sturdy crayon-painted armor.

"What is the meaning of this?" Asriel cried, voice trembling with newfound nervousness.

"T-they..." the smaller human mumbled, gaze shifting to the ground. "They offered me a whole bar..."

Asriel's words of admonishment were stuck in his throat as Chara glanced up with a wide grin. Asriel took a step back, only to fall into a sit upon the throne. Suddenly, they didn't feel like a ruler at all.

"I took your chocolate." Chara's sing-song voice making his fur stand up. "And now, I think I'll take you and your kingdom!"

With that, they shed the sweater-bind off their hand. Before Asriel could even hope to escape, they got a running start and jumped, tackling the young boss monster right through the desired throne. They started tickling their brother with no mercy in mind, quickly rendering them incapable of fighting back.

Frisk hopped back to their previous post and held the trumpet up again, though its tune was once more ruined by the shoddy repair job.

"Won't somebody save our beloved Prince from the evil Bandit Lord?" they cried.

But nobody came.

The human watched as the two siblings battled for supremacy, with Asriel eventually managing to put up a decent fight. While Chara wasn't nearly as ticklish all over, there were a number of spots on especially their sides, that would send them into giggle fits when touched. The battle raged on, neither willing to give any ground. Rightful ruler against uppity usurper; it was truly a fight to remember.

Frisk didn't even really need to help either of them.

Their smile slowly melted off and their gaze shifted to the trumpet once again. Two of the buttons were bright and shiny, bending exactly as Frisk wanted them to. They were also part of the instrument by design and just needed a good scrubbing to be in perfect condition once again. However, the third one didn't belong. It was just a tacked-on addition, something that neither worked, or looked so much as passable next to the other two. Poking at it a little more just made it give in finally and the faded bit of metal dropped to the floor, rolling out of sight. Giving it a quick try, they found the trumpet worked perfectly once again. It didn't even need that third button.

Frisk found their hands trembling, so much so that they let go of the instrument. It fell with a barely noticeable thump. They bit their lip as an uncomfortable, bitter lump steadily grew in their throat. Familiar thoughts were coming to the surface; words and images they didn't want to think about, much less remember.

As if on cue, something grabbed them by the wrist. Frisk let out a tiny yelp and picked their head up, only to see both Asriel and Chara holding onto their wrists. They were panting and disheveled, fresh from a tough fight, and yet they held on tight.

When they spoke up, they were in almost perfect agreement.

"Did you think-

"-you could escape us?"

The two gave Frisk no chance to get ready and pulled them into the nest of pillows that had once been a throne. In an instant, the two piled on the smallest human, giving them a fair share of tickle torture. Frisk was determined to hold on, but couldn't resist laughing after mere seconds. They were eventually mewling for even a moment's release, which the two just wouldn't give. Even when the assault tired out, they still didn't let them go free; Frisk remained locked in an iron grasp of hugs.

They held on tight to that shabby little third button. It completed them.


End file.
